I will also mention that tossing all political viewpoints aside for a moment, I was excited about this book series for another reason. My sister raised her children, my niece, and nephew, for the most part in Cape Girardeau, Missouri where my nephew became friends with Judge Stephen Limbaugh, Jr.'s son. Stephen Limbaugh, Jr. is one of Rush Limbaugh's cousins. Now, both of them are grown and I don't know if they have kept in touch since high school. Still, the personal connection made these stories even more delightful.

What is the Adventures of Rush Revere?

The Rush Revere books are written by political radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh. The storylines take the reader back in time to the days of the particular story being told. The books I received included:

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
Rush Revere and the American Revolution
Rush Revere and the Star Spangled Banner
Rush Revere and the Presidency

The main character is named Rush, which the author claims is a nickname given to him, in exchange for his real name, Rusty, that stemmed from when he was a child and was always rushing to history class (which, by the way, is not the true story of how Rush got his name but makes for a fun byline). Rush Revere is a substitute history teacher who makes history come alive for his students by traveling back to the historical days with his time-traveling horse, Liberty.

Each book has the historic events which the reader encounters through time traveling back in time to experience it first hand, but they also have a parallel storyline with a modern-day child's story. For instance:

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims and Rush Revere and the First Patriots tells the story of the Pilgrim's endeavors and the encounters of the first patriots with the Boston Tea Party but also pivots between modern day students named Elizabeth and Cam. These two books also include a follow-up question guide in the back.

Rush Revere and the American Revolution focuses on a child named Cam whose father is away fighting for the country in Afghanistan. The book is dedicated to all of the families servicemen and women leave behind to fight for our country.

Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner is dedicated to those who faced terrible illness and focuses on Tommy, whose grandfather is ill.

I received five hardcover books that are printed on nice, thick and glossy pages that are colored to look like historic parchment paper. That and the colorful illustrations and photographs throughout the books just added to the stories. What also added to the books was the way they were delivered to me, tied in a nice cloth ribbon like a precious gift. As I began to read these books, I realized that being able to see history through the eyes of those who lived it really is a precious gift.

How Did We Use It?

I could have started with the first book in the series, but I chose to dig in with the book about the Revolution and then went back to the previous books to get the full picture. As I began reading the first book by myself to check it out before deciding how to present it best to my children, I thought it would make a great family read-aloud, but concluded that the text and the way it is presented would be best suited for my 10-year-old to use as part of her American History curriculum. We are always looking for ways to enhance her history.

What Did We Think?

One of my favorite overall themes throughout each of the books is how the setting is an otherwise boring classroom, but Rush Revere turns history into an encounter with those who paved the way for how we live in our nation today.

These books create a thirst for history because it takes the historic accounts and allows the reader to "step back in time". The way they are written made me feel as if I had stepped into the pages of the book and was right alongside Liberty and Rush. The funny thing is that I had listened to Rush years ago on the radio, and as I read the words on the pages of the book, I couldn't help but hear his voice as if he was narrating the entire series with that smooth radio voice characteristic of Rush Limbaugh. These books make a fantastic read by themselves, as an entire series, as a read-aloud to the entire family, or as a starting point for creating an entire curriculum about American History.